Blackberry

For a number of years now, Blackberry and TCL Communication have been working together to release new phones with BlackBerry branding that run on Android. It looks like that partnership is coming to an end, as TCL has announced that it will stop offering BlackBerry-branded devices later this year.

With all the talk about LG, HTC, and Sony's phone businesses being in trouble, there is one brand that has seemingly been ignored. To be fair, BlackBerry has long surrendered its phone-making business to TCL but its name still used to ring in Android circles. The last news we heard from its wasn't good, with BlackBerry Messenger announced to be going away. It won't be alone, at least, as BlackBerry's other Android apps are reportedly riding off into the sunset as well.

BlackBerry has slapped Twitter with a patent infringement lawsuit, alleging that the social network copied its technology related to mobile messaging apps. The new lawsuit follows a similar legal complaint filed against Facebook last year, that likewise alleging the company had infringed its patent. In this case, BlackBerry claims Twitter has infringed upon half a dozen of its patents.

There may not be a brand new BlackBerry phone for Mobile World Congress this year, but there is a new color, with the BlackBerry KEY2 Red Edition adding a striking hue to the line-up of QWERTY phones. The new finish joins the fairly sober silver and black versions of the KEY2 that have been on sale for some time now.

BlackBerry is aiming to reinvent itself as a heavyweight in autonomous and connected vehicles, announcing a huge investment into its QNX platform. The expansion will see BlackBerry invest more than $310m into the new project, while the Government of Canada will inject $40m more courtesy of its Strategic Innovation Fund.

TCL has launched its BlackBerry KEY2 LE smartphone in two new color options in the US: Champagne and Atomic. Buyers in the US can get the Champagne color option from multiple destinations, but the Atomic color is being launched as a Best Buy exclusive. These two colors join the "Slate" option; the model's specs remain unchanged.

The BlackBerry KEY2 LE Android smartphone has launched for preorder in the United States. Buyers can purchase the unlocked handset from Amazon now, reserving a unit ahead of the October 12 official sale start date. Best Buy will also start accepting preorders for the smartphone soon, doing so both online and in some retail stores.

Some OEMs are rushing to put out new phones in the coming days and weeks but TCL is just being chill and rolling out what it announced just over a month ago. After all, its BlackBerry-branded QWERTY phones don't exactly have universal appeal. It does have its fair share of fans, some of whom might have wished to get their hands on a BlackBerry KEY2 if they could afford it. Fortunately, there is the KEY2 LE which is now available for those in the US to pre-order.

Facebook has slapped BlackBerry with a lawsuit accusing it of patent infringement. The legal spat follows BlackBerry's own lawsuit against Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp over allegations of "mobile messaging intellectual property" infringement, an issue that has boiled over into Facebook's own complaint. In it, the social media company claims BlackBerry has violated some of its voice messaging patents, among other things.

If you still demand a physical keyboard with your smartphone, but need Android on a budget, the new BlackBerry KEY2 LE announced at IFA 2018 today might fit the bill. Taking TCL's generally well-received BlackBerry KEY2 and trimming it down for a more affordable price point, the new smartphone starts at under $400.

BlackBerry has always been a name associated with business-smart mobile devices. That is also why you’re unlikely to find a BlackBerry phone in anything but somber hues, like black, silver, or gray. There were some red editions, true, and those were pretty radical as far as BlackBerry is concerned. The upcoming KEY2 LE, a.k.a. KEY2 Lite, will supposedly mix things up a bit and this latest batch of leaked photos show just how much, or how little, it will show off its colors.

It’s that time of year again. New Android version, new guessing and then waiting game for which phones will get the update and, just as importantly, when. Things have gotten better over the years, in no small part thanks to high-profile security scares and Apple gloating, but it’s far from being ideal. Ideally, that would be when lists like this will be superfluous. But until that glorious day, here are some of the smartphone makers who have gone public about their love for Pie and those that have been unsurprisingly yet annoyingly silent for the past weeks.